Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 32, Number 8, 1 ʻAukake 2015 — Mālama Loan application process now online [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Mālama Loan application process now online

By Garett Kamemoto Getting a Mālama Loan will be quicker and easier for those who qualify beginning Sept. 1. Those who want to apply for a loan ean do it from the comfort of their own home rather than going to a bank. The Office of Hawaiian Affairs is launching an online application process for its flagship loan program. The Mālama Loan ean be used to start or expand a business, make improvements to a person's home, consolidate debt or fund eontinuing education. "The Mālama Loan program will help Native Hawaiians access credit to help themselves out in the long run," said Kamana'opono Crabbe, OHA Ka Pouhana. "We urge people to take advantage of the program because it ean really pay dividends

in the long run." For example, someone getting a debt consolidation loan could potentially save hundreds of dollars by transferring balances from high interest rate credit cards to a Mālama Loan at a lower 6.25 percentage rate. Business loans have allowed Hawaiian-owned companies to make strategic investments in their businesses, resulting in an average revenue increase of 34 percent, according to an OHA study. Some recipients have used their loans to make their homes more energy efficient and put money back into their pockets. Online loan applications are available any time of the day or night, and onee an application is received it will usually be processed the same day. If the loan is approved, funds ean be given out in five to eight business days.

To qualify for a Mālama Loan, you must be a U.S. citizen and a resident of the state of Hawai'i, be verified as a Native Hawaiian through a birth certificate for OHA's Hawaiian Registry Card as well as other qualified verification methods. Applicants must have a minimum credit score of 600 or 650 for a debt consolidation loan, as well as meet other qualifications. (see www.oha.org/malamaloan for a complete list of qualifications.) In addition to applying over the Internet, applicants ean apply by mail or by visiting any of OHA's offices on O'ahu and on the neighbor islands. Applications will no longer available at First Hawaiian BankafterAug. 31. (Fora complete list of OHA offices, please see page 27.) For more information or to apply, visit www.oha.org/malamaloan. ■

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Sherman Napoleon, Jr., owner of Lohea Audio, a small business on Moloka'i, secured a Mālama Loan through OHA to assist him in his business . - Videostill: OHA Digital Media